Classwork 8/10/13

To what extent are your chosen texts typical of their genre?

The 2009 film Fish Tank has the social realism genre. This text is typical of this genre due to various aspects. Firstly, the majority of the cast are virtually unknown, especially the protagonist Mia who is portrayed by Katie Jarvis. Jarvis had never acted before and she was discovered in public. This creates social realism because the audience do not view the actors as portraying characters, but instead as real, genuine people, almost as if they are watching a documentary. The audience will not know about the actors and so cannot question what the actors are portraying as false, therefore making the audience somewhat passive. They take in everything they see as real life. If it were a well known famous star (regardless of their acting ability) the audience would know it was all fake and would be unable to ignore what they knew about the identity of the actor. For example, Brad Pitt portraying someone in poverty would be difficult to believe because we know he is very wealthy. The lighting is all natural and creates social realism. The audience can get a genuine understanding of the scenes because they understand the time it was set. During the day the scenes are bright, but only by the day light. They aren't excessively bright and nothing is exaggerated. This is typical of the social realism genre, and it shows pathetic fallacy. The weather is dull and dreary and so are the lives and futures of the characters. Another scene, where Connor is chasing Mia across a field after she kidnapped, and then returned his daughter, it is very dark and Connor is obscured throughout the whole scene, so much so that the audience aren't completely sure it is even him. Mia's face is slightly lit up by the moon to show her emotions. There is no non-diegetic sound, nor are there any special effects. The film looks very home made and features hardly any editing, showing the reality of it. The diegetic sound featured, for example from the speakers attached to Mia's Walkman, shows real life and makes the audience feel that she is dancing live in front of them. When the music stops, she stops. Also, heavy breathing is sometimes focussed on throughout the film and this creates tension and suspense. The focus on heavy breathing forces the audience to think of similar situations when they would also be so out of breath. For example, exercise, fear or sadness. The social realism genre represents people who are rarely seen. Mia, her family, friends and situations are extremely unrepresented. Mia and her family are under class and it is not often this class features in films, mainly just hard-hitting, thought provoking documentaries. Similarly, the situation Mia is in regarding her confusing feelings towards her Mum's boyfriend Connor is something that is unnatural and rarely seen.